Director and pointer for rontgen machines and the like



May 8, 1951 F. H. PULS 2,551,703

DIRECTOR AND POINTER FOR RONTGEN MACHINES AND THE LIKE Filed Feb. 11, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR FRED PULS,

May 8, 1951 F. H. PULS I 2,551,703

DIRECTOR AND POINTER FOR RONTGEN MACHINES AND THE LIKE Filed Feb. 11, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Hill INVENTOR 37 FRED H. PULS,

ATTORNEY Patented May 8, 1951 DIRECTOR AND POINTER FOR RGNTGEN MACHINES AND THE LIKE Fred H. Puls, Richmond Hill, N. Y., assignor of one-third to Bernard Roswit, New York, N. Y.

Application February 11, 1948, Serial No. 7,593

1 Claim. I

This invention relates to an attachment for an apparatus for treating parts of the body with Redntgen, radium or like rays and has particular reference to attachments for such apparatus whereby the rays from same may be positively directed to diseased portions of the human body without subjecting the sound and healthy adjacent tissues of the body to a prolonged exposure to the said rays.

An object of this invention is the provision, in an apparatus of the type described, of attachments thereon adapted to enable an operator to set the machine at previously determined angles so that the rays may be directed to diseased tissues, from various points, thereby avoiding the repetitious passage of the rays through the sound and healthy tissues adjacent to the diseased part of the patients body.

Another object of this invention is the inclusion therein of an adjustable pointer and finder attached to the apparatus to positively locate the diseased spot which is to be treated by the rays.

A still further object of this invention is the provision of an organization in which the constituents elements are so arranged structurally and functionally as to assure improved results with materials and members which may be manufactured at reasonable cost, may be easily assembled and which will be efficient in operation with minim-um wear to the parts.

The invention possesses other objects and features of advantage some of which, with the foregoing, will be set forth in the following description and in the claim wherein parts will be identified by specific names for convenience but they are intended to be as generic in their ap plication to similar parts as the art will permit.

In the accompanying drawings there has been 11- lustrated the best embodiment of the'invention and advantages thereof, will best be understood from the following description of a specific embodiment when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a front elevational view of an'X-ray apparatus having the direction finder and Figure 5 is a vertical sectional view taken along line 55 of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a sectional plan view taken along line 8-6 of Figure 5.

Figures 7 and 8 are diagrams of charts used to determine the set of the machine and will hereinafter be described.

Figure 9 is an enlarged plan view of an angle gauging unit attached to the X-ray apparatus.

Figure 10 is a front elevational view of same.

Figure 11 is a side elevational view of same.

Figure 12 is a side elevational view of same showing the X-ray machine tilted rearwardly to an angle of from the vertical.

Figure 13 is a view similar to that of Figure 10 but shows the X-ray machine tilted to the left to an angle of 30 from the vertical.

Referring in detail to the parts, H designates a bracket member which is attached to the X-ray machine by screws l2 and is formed. with a block l3 having a circular central opening l4 and clamping flanges l5 and IS. A threaded pin I1 is fixed in one flange l5, engages through a perforation in the flange l6 and is provided with a thumb nut iii to afford a means for clamping the said flanges i5 and 16 together. A swivel comprising two semi-circular members I9 and 20 (Figure 6) is adapted to rotate in the said central opening 44 and embraces a shaft 21 slidable through the said semi-circular members l9 and 20. Top and bottom shoulder members 22, through which the said shaft 2| engages, are attached, by means of screws 23, to the said semi-circular members.

The lower end of the said shaft 2 l, terminates in a block 24 having a central opening through which a shaft 25 slidably engages and is locked in any desired position by means of a thumb nut 25 threaded into the block 24. To the outer end of said shaft 25 there is pivotally attached, a collar or split ring '21 which holds, vertically movable therein, a telescopic unit comprising an upper tubular member 28, an intermediate tubula member 29 telescopically engageable within the said upper member 28 and a lower bar 30 in turn telescopically engageable within the said down' each side to 90 at each quadrant.

intermediate member 29. To the lower end of the bar 30 there is attached a knob 3| to which a pointed button 32 of rubber or other suitable material is secured. A knob 33 is secured upon the upper end of the tubular member 28 and acts as a finger hold for adjusting the said tubular member 28 in the split ring 27. The said ring, as above stated, is pivotally attached, at 34, to the end of the shaft 25 and is held against movement by a thumb nut 35 which when loosened allows the telescopic pointer member to be folded back under the shaft 25.

A two way, self balancing pro-tractor, angle measuring unit 36 comprising an outer ring 3? is secured to a bracket member 33 which is in turn fastened to an X-ray machine by means of screws 39. Pivotally attached, at 48, to the said outer ring 3'5 is an intermediate ring 4: while an inner ring 42 is pivotally attached to the said intermediate ring 45 at 43, the bearings 43 being in the same plane as the bearings 48 but arranged at right angles thereto. The said intermediate ring 4| carries upon it an annular or flat ring member 44 the upper half (both sides) of which is graduated and suitably marked, as at 45 to indicate degrees, the zero indication being manually at the top center of said ring 44. The lower part 45 of the said ring 44 is thickened suf ficiently to overbalance, in weight, the upper half of said ring and the ring 44 is secured to the ring 4| in such manner that the plane of each ;ring is fixed at right angles to one another.

A second smaller ring :3? is fixed at a right angle upon the said inner ring 42 and is thickened at its lower half 8 to overbalance, in weight, the upper half of said ring 47. The said ring 4? has a right angular connection with the said ring tl. Graduations and numeral markings 49 upon both sides of the upper half of said ring indicate various degrees ranging from at the upper center An arm 50 having a pointer i is attached, at one end, to the bracket 38 and extends over and part way around the ring 44.

Preliminarily to setting the apparatus to direct the X-ray to the diseased tissue upon the body to be treated, the physican in charge, prepares a chart (Figures 7 and 8) to plot the location of the diseased tissue and determine the angle at which the X-ray apparatus must be set and its distance from the tissue to be treated. The distance from g the surface of the body to the exact location in the body of the diseased tissue is readily determined by X-ray photos taken in the usual manner. With these factors known the physician prepares a chart (Figure 7) in the form of a plan where A represents a point upon the body surface directly over the diseased tissue A and in a vertical line which passes through the point A 1 The long dash lines indicate the axis of the ray and in Figures 3 and v8 this axis line shows a ray projection of 30 from the vertical. In Figures 2 and 8 the line C indicates an angle of from the vertical.

Having determined the angle of direction in which to project the rays the physician, selecting the 30 angle for the ray penetrations inscribes a circle D, E, F, G (Figure '7) having a radius corresponding to the distance R of Figure 8. The reference letters D, E, F and G indicate the points of ray penetration when the X-ray machine is set for a ray penetration of 30 to the vertical.

When, however, the physician selects the lesser angle of penetration, shown in Figure 8 where the axis line C of the ray indicates an angle of 15 he inscribes a circle D E F and G (Figure 7) having a radius equal to the distance R of Figure 8, the markings D E, F and G in this circle indicating the points of ray penetration at 15. The distances from the point 13 upon the axis B to the point A or the distance upon the ray axis C from the point C to A may be readily determined by simple mathematical computation. The line BS in the various figures represent the outer surface of the body of the patient.

At this point the X-ray machine is set at the selected 30 angle and the shaft 25 carrying the telescopic pointer 28 is permanently set so that same alines with the axis of the ray from the X-ray machine. The shaft 2i may be adjusted to the required length the machine is to be set from the point A. Graduations 2i and 25 representing distances are provided upon the shafts 2i and 25 respectively. The distance of the X-ray machine is fixed by the cross-sectional area of the ray where it strikes the surface of the body at B This cross-sectional area must coincide with the area, marked upon the body, indicated by the converging lines of the X-ray (Figure 8). The angle of inclination for the X-ray machine is readily established by the readings upon the swinging rings 44 or 4? depending upon the direction of the tilt.

With the apparatus adjusted as above set forth the pointer 32 is brought into contact with the body at a point D corresponding to the chart of Figure '7. The shaft 25 is swung about, in its swivel mounting :3, to a position approximately as shown in Figure 2 and the telescopic pointer 28 closed as shown when the machine is set for treatment.

Assuming that the first X-ray application is made at the point D, the second application is made at E, the third at F and the fourth at G, all at an angle of 30. The next or fifth treatment may be made at A. This application, however is not made at an angle but in a vertical line directly above the diseased tissue as is clearly shown in Figure 1. After this fifth treatment the operator applies the next or sixth treatment at the point (1, again at an angle of 30. The following or seventh treatment is applied at e, the eighth at I, the ninth at g and the tenth treatment again at A. in a direct vertical line. If further treatments are to be applied to the patient the ray is directed at the intermediate points in a consecutive order. It will be observed that, by the method above described, the healthy tissues which have been partially seared by the passage therethrough of the rays, will have ample time for restoration to a normally healthy condition before being again subjected to X-ray exposure.

The number of treatments applied to a patient is determined by the physician in charge and the actual application of the X-rays is made by an X-ray technician who operates the ap- 1 "I 5 L in said central opening adapted to rotate therein, clamping flanges having a tightening screw thereinf'onsaid split block for tightening said block upon said swivel to prevent rotation of said swivel, a slidable graduatedfs'haft adapted to slide in said swivel at right angles to said attaching member, a terminal block at the lower end of said slidable shaft, said terminal block having a central rectangular bore at right angles to the axis of said graduated-shaft, a second graduated shaft slidably engagableithrough said opening in said terminal block, said; second shaft at right angles to said first mentioned graduated shaft, a tightening screw upon islaid terminal block for. tightening said second shaft against movement, a split ring upon an end of said second shaft, a tubular pointer my rig a multiplicity oi retractable telescopic members the upper member of which is engagefable through said splitring, said ring having tightening means for rigidly holding said upper member, the lowermost member of said telescopic members being tapered to a point.

FRED H. PULS. 25 Number REFERENCES CITED Theifollowing references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 493,807 Beale Mar. 21, 1893 715,445 White Dec. 9, 1902 1,239,145 Wantz Sept. 4, 1917 1,282,676 Carlin Oct. 22, 1918 1,308,795 McCormack July 8, 1919 1,346,547 Lackland July 13, 1920 1,411,883 Fisher .Apr. 4, 1922 1,423,924 Edwards July 25, 1922 1,530,063 Tichy Mar. 17, 1925 1,571,641 Pratt Feb. 2, 1926 1,887,801 Cole Nov. 15, 1932 2,217,308 Cox Oct. 8, 1940 2,397,795 Lersch Apr. 2, 1946 2,456,505 Hastings Dec. 14, 1948 2,460,826 Hooser et a1. Feb. 8, 1949 2,469,874 Fetsko, Jr. May 10, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date 339,917 Italy Apr. 30, 1936 520,432 Great Britain Apr. 24, 1940 

